Isaie lippmann



UNITED STATES `PATENT OFFICE.

ISAIE LIPPMANN, OF PARIS, FRANCE, ASSIGNOR TO MICHEL JEAN ADRIAN GUIET, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

PROCESS 0F SPLITTING LEATHER AND HIDES.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 17,471, dated J une 2, 1857.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Isaia LIPPMANN, of No. t Rue Goeffroy St. Hilaire, Paris, in the Empire of France, tanner, have invented a new and useful Process of Splitting Leather and Hides; and I do hereby declare the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement, refer-g ence being had to the drawings hereuntoV annexed and to the letters and figures marked thereon-that is to say:

This invention relates to the treatment of the hides or skins of oxen, calves, horses and other large animals and has for its object to cut or divide these skins in such a manner that the epidermis or grain itself of such hides or skins may be divided so that by this means a valuable portion of the skin may be cut off and abstracted and 1 used in the manufacture of gloves, Morocco leather and for other purposes without materially diminishing the value of the remaining portion of the skin which may be employed for the various useful purposes for which skins or leather are now used with the grain untouched.

I would observe thatJ hides and skins have been heretofore split or divided for the purpose of reducing them to one uniform thickness and cutting off the fleshy parts, but hitherto when the operation has been effected the inner half of the skin or hide has been of little or no value as it did not possess any grain on its surface.

Various attempts have been made to split' or divide calves skins, and to divide the epidermis or grain or upper part of the skin or hide of oxen or horses by cutting off a thin film of the skin but hitherto without success. After considerable trouble and a great number of experiments I have discovered, first, that to effect the desired object it was necessary to submit the skins or hides to a preparatory process previous to splitting or dividing them. Second, I found that the ordinary machinery as heretofore used for splitting sheep skins would not effect the desired purposes. I therefore found it necessary not only to submit the hides or skins to a preparatory process in order to soften them but also to considerably alter the construction of the splitting machine and modify the mode of working the said machinery otherwise I could not i y effect the desired object.

In carrying out my invention I first submit the hides or skins to a preparing process whereby they are softened so as to bring them to a proper state to be operated upon by the second machine and without which preparing process the subsequent operation of splitting the hides or skins could not be effected. The skins are prepared by means of the machine shown at Figures l and 2 in Sheet I of the accompanying drawings, which softens or renders them pliable 4preparatory to their being split or divided.

Fig. l is an elevation and Fig. 2 a section taken vertically in the line A B of Fig. l.

The machine consists of a chamber or chambers or troughs a a a in which are made to work two or more wooden beaters or fullers o Z9 b b which are aflixed to the lower end of these levers c c c c and when set in motion each of the beaters are in turn made to strike the skins in a slanting direction as shown' in Fig. 2. The beaters or fullers Z) b are set in motion by cranks or eccentrics d cl d d, on the driving or working shaft e and the beaters are so constructed and arranged that they do not come into contact with the edges of the trough in which they work but merely beat and rub the skins or hides up against the end of the trough or chamber and by,

that means soften the skins and render them quite supple. The skins or hides previous to being placed in the machine should be soaked in water to soften them and when they have been operated upon in this preparing machine in the manner above described they are then ready to be split or divided, for which purpose they are removed to the second machine which is shown in perspective in Fig. 3, Sheet II. The skins or hides are attached to the cylinder or roller A A by means of pins or hooks and a slow rotary motion is communicated to the cylinder A by causing an endless screw i on the main driving shaft y' to gear into a toothed wheel K, on the shaft of the cylinder or roller A. The hides or skins are split by means of a long vibrating knife or blade B, B, actuated by means of the eccentric fm, and connecting rod H. The shaft Gr on which is mounted the eccentric m is made to move with considerable velocity by means of the band or strap F, which passes from the large wheel E, on the driving shaft j to the small pulley F1, on the eccentric shaft G. It will now be seen t-hat the roller or cylinder to which the skins are attached rotates very slowly while a very rapid vibration is communicated to the vibrating knife. It is this eXtreme rapidity of the vibrating knife in combination with the slow rotary motion of the cylinder or roller to which the skin is attached which constitutes the chief merit of my machine. The speeds which I have found by experience to be the most suitable to be given to the several parts for effecting the purpose I have in view are as follows. rlhe large wheel E should be driven about one hundred and twenty rotations per minute and the crank shaft G with its eccentric m made to rotate about one thousand two hundred and sixty times per minute. The speeds of the parts d, j, and i: should be so regulated that the roller A should make about one revolution for every 35 rotations of the large wheel. The position of the knife or cutting blade and other parts of the machine connected therewith may be regulated by means of the screws s, s, s, so that a thicker or thinner sheet may be out off from the hide or skin as may be desired.

In order to keep the hide or skin extended while under operation it must be drawn over the grooved breast bar t, which`is shown detached at Fig. 4. The hide or skin being damp will cling somewhat to the breast bar t, t, and as the skin is drawn forward the grooves in the breast bar will keep it spread out in full tension.

Having now described my invention of improvements in the treatment of hides and skins for the manufacture of leather, I wish it to be understood, that I am aware that the hides and skins of oXen, horses and other large animals have heretofore been split or divided by means of vibrating knives and I would remark that although the skins of sheep have been divided or split and both parts rendered valuable and useful yet no person has hitherto succeeded in splitting or dividing the skins of calves, oxen, cows, horses and other large animals and producing thereby two valuable and useful skins instead of one. I therefore claim to have been the inventor and diseoverer of a valuable process whereby considerable economy in skins and hides is eected as the thin film which I am enabled by my process to out off and remove from` the skin or hide without materially deteriorating the latter may be used for making gloves or to produce Morocco leather while the residue of the skins may be employed for the same purposes as those for which they are now used as forv instance for the manufacture of leather.

In conclusion I would observe that what I consider to be new and useful in my above described invention or discovery is The method herein described for splitting skins and by first submitting them to a fulling or beating action as described and then when so prepared passing them through an apparatus or machine the cutting apparatus of which has a rapid vibratory motion against which the skin is projected slowly, substantially as herein specified by which method of fulling and cutting combined I am enabled more perfectly to split skins than has heretofore been done.

In witness whereof I the said ISAIE LIPP- MANN have hereunto set my hand and seal the 22d day of December in the yea-r of our Lord 1855.

I. LIPPMANN. [n s] Vitnesses:

BIN-ssoN, AsEL JOUMAUER, Jr. 

